1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a golf putting aid which may be removably attached to a prior art putter for use during putting practice, and thereafter detached whereby the same putter may be used in playing a round of golf. The invention is further concerned with a prior art putter having the golf putting aid of the invention removably attached thereto.
2. The Prior Art
Golf training devices of the type commonly referred to in this art as practice putting aids have been used heretofore in practice putting. Examples are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,057,821 3,021,141, 3,039,776, 3,194,564, 3,912,277, 4,025,078, and 4,130,282, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. These prior art putting aids were not entirely satisfactory for a number of reasons.
Many of the prior art putting aids were relatively large and heavy, and often the putter head had to be modified in order to provide mechanical means for attaching the putting aid to the striking face. As a result, these prior art putting aids could not be easily attached to an unmodified prior art putter for use during putting practice, and then detached therefrom whereby the same putter could be used while playing a round of golf. The prior art putting aids also had unusual configurations, or were sufficiently large and/or heavy to change the putting characteristics of the putter. Thus, they were not very effective as training aids due, among other reasons, to the change in putting characteristics while subsequently playing a round of golf.
Additionally, the prior art putting aids are relatively expensive to manufacture and thus tend to be costly to purchase and use effectively. This is especially true in instances where a special practice putter must be purchased in order to effectively use the prior art putting aids. In such instances, another putter, which often has different putting characteristics, must be purchased for use in playing a round of golf.
The aforementioned deficiencies and disadvantanges of the prior art putting aids have been long recognized by those skilled in this art. However, an entirely satisfactory putting aid, and/or a prior art putter incorporating the same, was not available prior to the present invention in spite of the long existing and great need therefor.